Oh, danke, Brele, hatte ich doch glatt überlesen ;-)

@Arjuni: thanks for the Chinese story - the context is quite different, however, so I think that it can't be the one that Malvaldi is thinking of.

And sorry for the extra t in the title - I proofread before posting but it still escaped me!

Even if the context is different: obviously the person is in a difficult situation and has to find a solution to get out of it (per togliermi d'impiccio) – he could mention the tale of the stones just meaning he has to think of a ruse.

Thanks Arjuni - on reflection that does make sense for me.